Tag Archives: Theater

Student-Directed Play Festival

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When my friend asked me if I’d like to see the final showing of our Student-Directed Play Festival, I happily agreed. The event was free and held in the under stage of our theater. Senior Yichong “Angel” Li chose “Between the Lines,” a play which deals with the themes of memory, race relations, and gender roles. Senior Kiera Gillock directed the more lighthearted “Crazy Eights,” an eccentric love story between a criminal and her parole officer.

“Between the Lines” charts the college and professional life of the protagonist, Nina, focusing specifically on her relationships with women like her college roommate, mother, and friend Mercedes, who eventually marries the man she loves. We are reminded of how we shape memory and how unreliable it can be.

While “Between the Lines” spans over several years and many relationships, “Crazy Eights” takes place in one night in a New York apartment. Benny, the parole officer, sneaks into former drug addict Connie’s apartment and waits for her to return under the pretense that he is checking to make sure she made her curfew. We learn throughout the scene, though, that he is interested in her and got off her case earlier that afternoon.

Many of the students who were in the performance also had parts in our production of “Hairspray,” which occurred in October. Throughout their time at McDaniel, theater students get to chance to experiment with various characters and roles, making them more marketable and well-rounded after graduation. It’s great to get a chance to watch them perform from show to show and watch their progression!

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Dangersauce

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The Homecoming experience at McDaniel is pretty systematic: get up and watch parade (or sleep in…), go to football stadium, wander from tent to tent catching up with people and eating, cheer for football team when something exciting happens, etc.

While I did all these things and had a blast, I’d have to say that one of my favorite parts of Homecoming weekend was not as well-attended or well-known as the football game. While a lot of people were getting in their post-game nap, Dangersauce, our student improv group, hosted a show in the theater.

Dangersauce is comprised of about 10 students who put on improvisational comedy shows on campus. On their Facebook page, they guarantee that all jokes are “unrehearsed, unscripted, and completely hilarious.”

The Homecoming show was the second that I’ve attended this semester, and both have totally been worth the dollar that I’ve spent to get in. For about an hour, the members play games that involve a few members or the entire group.

My favorite games involve audience participation, such as the one last night where a troupe member was sent out of the theater while the audience was asked to decide where and how a grisly murder occurred as well as who perpetrated the crime (We chose a public bathroom, exorcism, and the Pope, respectively). After we decided, the member was called back into the theater and guessed as the rest of the cast acted out the crime.

Since it was Homecoming, a lot of former members of Dangersauce came to see the show. For the final game, they were all called up on stage to participate, and it was cool to see what a long-standing tradition Dangersauce has been on our campus.

Interested in joining or just learning more? Check out their Facebook.

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Ghosts

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Tonight I went on a tour of campus, but not the sort of tour that you’ll go on with student ambassadors from the admissions office. Instead, this tour was a ghost tour of McDaniel, and I really enjoyed it.

When I heard that Alpha Psi Omega, the National Theater Honor Society on campus, was putting on ghost tours last night and tonight, I knew I had to go, especially since I enjoyed the ghost tour I took of Westminster last month (which I wrote about here). Though urban legends and folklore exist on campus, I’d never really heard any of these stories and wanted to learn about them.

Tonight was a perfect night for a ghost tour too. It was pleasantly warm outside, which isn’t so spooky, but the fogginess of the night contributed to an ideal atmosphere. Our tour was led by two theater students who were very familiar with the stories and even claim to have experienced paranormal activities themselves. Theater majors supposedly encounter ghosts a lot, since the theater boasts three ghosts. They think their ghosts are pretty friendly though, especially one named Harvey, who watches out for crew members when they do lighting and likes to watch rehearsals.

A lot of the stories that have been passed down over the years seem a little outlandish, and I’m a little skeptical about them. I think I’m going to have to do a little research to see how these legends originated. Still, I found the stories to be really interesting, and going on the tour was a great way to spend part of my evening.

And don’t worry–chances are, you’ll never encounter a ghost on campus. Unless you look for them…

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McDaniel Theatre presents Hairspray!

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This evening, I went with a bunch of friends to see the famed musical Hairspray, McDaniel College Theatre’s first production of the semester. People around campus really liked last night’s opening performance, so I knew I was in for a good show tonight. It did not disappoint!

I’ll admit that I wasn’t a huge fan of the movie version of Hairspray that came out a few years back, but seeing the show performed on the McDaniel stage was so much better! I highly enjoyed the show itself, and as a wonderful added bonus, I got to see several memorable performances–many from people I know from around campus. I was also pleased to see many people in the show who I had not previously seen in a McDaniel production before and who are not theater majors. (If you’ve ever been interested in theater, college is a great place to try it out!) And I was super impressed by some of the vocals, particularly those of the girl who played Motormouth Maybelle.

The cast and crew of Hairspray has worked hard to put this show together since practically the beginning of the semester. They’ve put in plenty of long hours and sacrifice a lot of sleep and free time in order for the show to be a success, so I was glad to see that their hard work truly paid off.

Congratulations to everyone involved in Hairspray on a fantastic and memorable performance!

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